While inventorying my stash, I found this shou pu'er tucked among the other shou I own (not much but growing). It is the same one that Scott Wilson of Yunnan Sourcing mentioned in the 1st volume of The Art of Tea. In the article, his response to the question which Puerhs of 2006 will prove to be the best investment was:".... The 2006 Menghai Yunnan to Tibet Horse Ripe Puerh cake, on the other hand, only had one unique batch and will not be produced again after this year. [This] tea's wholesale price had already doubled within 6 months of its release...."
Oh well, so what, I thought. I only have 2 beengs and they are going nowhere but down my throat. I purchased each beeng for $19 from Scott back in May of last year. I would have profited a whopping $40 or more by now. Big deal. I would have thought differently if I had a jian or two, however.
Tasting Note
The dry leaves emanated a clean and salty sweet aromas. Once wet, it smelled like smoked meat / fish / shrimp that was strangely quite inviting. When the leaves had cooled down it reminded me of root beer (sarsaparilla), just as the V93 Menghai shou tuocha did. The root beer characterization was brought to my attention by Davelcorp, who I thought made an accurate association.
The thick, black, opaque liquor tasted smooth, clean and creamy. Fortunately, it gave no pond-y taste. The tea finished creamy with shades of sweet and metallic notes. From the 3rd infusion onwards, a hint of all around sweetness was present. Brewed well for 8 infusions with enough juice for a few more. In many respects, this is a rather different shou pu'er than most that I have tasted so far.
I enjoyed it very much. 4 stars (vg)
6 comments:
This looky seriously dense my friend! Clear, bright liquor under the light? Seems like a perfect remedy for a cold or tummy ache : )
Hello Toki,
Clarity was good to fair, not excellent, when the tea got weaker in later infusions.
Um.... how about wholesale price that has tripled or quadrupled?
That's not unheard of in the last year or so. Doubling in six months is small time!
This is how crazy things are.
Even Shou can quadrupled for a 05/06? Marshain,
That is crazy!? Are they doing this price hopping in HK too? T
"smoked meat / fish / shrimp that was strangely quite inviting"
I find most Menghai shou quite pleasant too, though perhaps not in that way :)
-vl.
Yes, even shou!
I remember looked for some 7452 for somebody early on when I arrived in Beijing. I was getting quotes of something like 50/60 a cake. I thought that was too much.
Now it's something like 170-200, depending on who you ask... or at least that's what I was told.
It's been less than a year!
And for some of the other more "special" productions like Classic 66, or "Weizuiyan", it's definitely gone up that much -- for the shou versions, even. Sheng is worse.
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